Solar Manufacturing, Inc. announces it has received an order for a Model HCB-120180-2EQ car bottom type vacuum heat treating furnace from a major Chinese aircraft manufacturer. It is expected that the furnace will be used for the processing of various titanium aircraft parts and other related products.

"This is an important order in that it reinforces the confidence that the Chinese aircraft industry has placed in Solar Manufacturing," said Rick Jones, vice president of international sales. "The Solar Model HCB-120180-2EQ Furnace is a horizontal, car bottom design incorporating a special motorized in/out front loading system. We are modifying the design of our standard car bottom loading system to uniquely suit the customer's needs," he added.

According to Jones, the furnace work zone measures 99" (2515 mm) wide x 48" (1219 mm) high x 180" (4572 mm) long and has a hearth designed to accommodate up to a 15,000 pound workload. The hot zone is an all metal design incorporating molybdenum/stainless steel shields and molybdenum heating elements with a maximum operating temperature of 1000 oC (1832 oF). Each of the two vacuum pumping systems will consist of a 35" diffusion pump with appropriate roughing and booster pumps to provide vacuum operation in the 10-5 Torr range. Cooling is accomplished via an internal 200 HP radial blower/heat exchanger system feeding the high velocity, molybdenum gas nozzles that surround the work load.